Taji Ra'oof Nahl, also known as TR7, is a Philadelphia-based interdisciplinary artist whose practice brings together moving image, sculpture, installation, sound, research, and public activation. Working through his evolving methodology, Field Trips to Staged Productions, Nahl develops long-form projects that move from concept and archival inquiry into exhibitions, films, performances, publications, and site-responsive interventions.
As an autodidact, Nahl approaches art as a form of artistic journalism and beneficial knowledge. His work often begins with historical figures, civic systems, scientific inquiry, architecture, and overlooked archives, then expands them into contemporary visual and conceptual frameworks. Across projects such as Calculating Banneker, Black Desk Continuum, Adam Vocabulary Club, and The Other Sounds of Philadelphia, he creates interconnected bodies of work that examine knowledge, stewardship, memory, surveillance, ecology, and collective imagination.
Nahl is a 2024 Guggenheim Fellow in Fine Arts and the 2026–27 Philip Guston Rome Prize Fellow in Visual Arts at the American Academy in Rome. His current work in Rome extends Calculating Banneker into HiveChronicles, a new body of research connecting astronomy, apiary systems, Roman history, architecture, and Qur'anic philosophy.
His practice also includes real-time composition, structured improvisation, and collaborative sound, which operate as part of a broader interdisciplinary system rather than as a separate musical practice. Through screenings, installations, Video Almanacs, Live Scoring Sessions, Field Trips, and Ra'oof Invitationals, Nahl builds environments where research becomes experience and process becomes medium.
What project will you be embarking upon during your time at the Academy?
During my time at the Academy, I will develop HiveChronicles, an extension of my ongoing Calculating Banneker series. The project brings together bees, astronomy, and systems of knowledge, exploring stewardship, intelligence, collective continuity, and humanity's relationship to the natural and celestial worlds. Through Rome's apiaries, bee iconography, ancient apiculture, astronomical histories, and Qur'anic teachings from Surah An-Nahl, I will translate this research into sculpture, field recordings, moving-image works, and participatory presentations.
What aspects of the city and Academy life are you most interested in exploring?
I am especially interested in exploring Rome's planetariums and astronomical sites, modern architecture, bee farms and apiaries, and libraries and archives. Just as important is the opportunity to cross-pollinate ideas with the other Fellows—sharing research, methods, and perspectives across disciplines and allowing those exchanges to become part of the work itself, which is already bearing fruit.
What encounters/experiences in the first days at the Academy have inspired/surprised or encouraged you thus far?
What has encouraged me most in my first days at the Academy is the infrastructure of care surrounding the Fellowship. From the resident-artists and different departments to the leadership and staff, there is a real sense that everyone is invested in helping us have a fruitful experience and produce meaningful work. I have also been inspired by the communal nature of Academy life—sharing lunches and dinners, having rich conversations with other Fellows, and having the space and time to think, create, and cross-pollinate ideas. That combination of support, community, and reflection creates the conditions to generate what I like to call pure honey.
How did you prepare to move to Rome/the Academy?
There were many ways I prepared for the move to Rome, but perhaps the most important was preparing my family. I began conversations with my four adult children and six grandchildren about creating a family trust and making sure they are invested in preserving, protecting, and advancing the body of work I am creating. Coming to Rome became not only preparation for a fellowship, but preparation for legacy.